Huge boost to UK named strongest EV market in | Tech News

A motoring knowledgeable has welcomed a surge in gross sales of electric vehicles, however warned that the Government should introduce more incentives to change the tax exemption.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), 63,313 fully-electric vehicles had been offered in the UK during March 2025 – a 43.2 p.c increase in contrast to 12 months prior.

While the determine exhibits a growing demand for EVs, making the UK the strongest market for the fashions in Europe, John Cassidy, managing director of gross sales at Close Brothers Motor Finance, instructed that gross sales are nonetheless considerably under the Government’s present targets.

He defined: “A combination of new registration plates, discounting activity and buyers rushing to beat the vehicle excise duty (VED) changes ahead of April contributed to a spike in new registrations. However, the numbers still fall short of the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate targets.

“This will spark additional issues over widespread electric vehicle (EV) adoption, as knowledge nonetheless stays closely skewed by fleet gross sales. The Government’s resolution to apply VED to EVs solely provides to price issues that are piling up for motorists, and provides additional doubt over the proposed 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel autos – with 78 p.c of motor sellers already missing confidence that this can go forward.”

Currently, the Government’s ZEV Mandate features a quota of electric models that car brands must sell in order to avoid hefty fines, with the figure increasing each year until a complete ban on new petrol and diesel cars in 2030.

During 2025, 28 percent of all new car sales in the UK must be fully-electric – an increase of six percent compared to the target in 2024, which saw a significant number of manufacturers forced to substantially discount models to generate interest.

Many have concerns that similar measures may need to be taken this year, with only 19.4 percent of new car sales taking place during March 2025 being EVs.

Mike Hawes, Chief Executive of the SMMT, called on the Government to add more incentives to relieve some of the strain from the manufacturers while increasing sales.

He added: “Without substantive Government help for shoppers, the present regulatory regime is undeliverable. A fast response to the Government session is subsequently needed – one which provides flexibilities that replicate the natural stage of demand and helps the industry to ship growth in the face of a powerful set of world challenges.

“In this regard, last week’s Spring Statement was a missed opportunity to intervene, as Government incentives can change consumer behaviour. An SMMT survey in February 2025 found that fewer than one in four new car buyers intend to buy an electric car by 2028 but two in five electric sceptics could be convinced to switch if Government incentives were available, as is the case in most other European markets.”

While many have welcomed the quantity of EV gross sales during March 2025, some motoring consultants have warned that demand for electric fashions may rapidly fall.

This is essentially due to the finish of tax exemption for electric vehicles, which got here into impact on April 1 2025, that means that almost all drivers will need to pay the identical charge of £195 as petrol and diesel drivers.

However, with the tax doubling on a big selection of new petrol and diesel fashions, car consumers could also be more acutely aware concerning the kind of vehicle they buy.